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Sophomore Entrepreneurship Team Wins in State Championship

04/28/2014

St. John Fisher College’s entrepreneurial team, Just Dangle Hockey (JDH), became the first-ever Fisher team to compete and win a state title in the New York State Business Plan Competition which took place in Albany on April 25. Company Founder Matt Keeler, along with his business partner, Nathan Woods, secured the “People’s Choice Award” in the product and services category in the state competition after winning the regional semi-finalist competition earlier this month.

Keeler and Woods, both business students, presented their company and plan in a competition that included over 80 teams from over 60 different colleges and universities including Cornell University, Clarkson University, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Rochester, State University of New York at Albany, State University of New York at Buffalo, Binghamton University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Syracuse University, and many others.

In the regional and state competitions, teams compete in six categories: Biotechnology/Healthcare, Energy/Sustainability, Information Technology/Software, Nanotechnology/Advanced Technology, Biotechnology/Healthcare and Energy/Sustainability, Social Entrepreneurship/Non-Profit and Products/Services. Competing teams must be 100% student-run. Teams are evaluated on the viability of their business, strength of their plan, passion of their founders, and ability to bring the concept to market. Over $500,000 in prizes of goods and services are awarded.

According to their faculty advisor, Dr. Mary Kay Copeland, Keeler and Woods have worked incredibly hard over the past two years to develop their company and prepare for the competition.

“To win on the regional level is an incredible accomplishment, but to proceed and win on the state level requires an excellent company with a confident and vetted entrepreneurial team,” she added.

Copeland also acknowledged those in the School of Business and College overall that helped prepare the Keeler and Woods, rallying around them.

Just Dangle Hockey is a hockey apparel and accessories distributor that sells their products online at JustDangleHockey.com. The company has an iconic brand and over 15,500 twitter followers. Their embroidered, high-quality products are endorsed by a number of professional hockey players throughout the United States and Canada. The company’s success is largely a result of a strong brand and a well developed social media presence maintained by Keeler and Woods, who are hockey players themselves.